


When He Called You Mine

by BrianneABanana



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Nothing Sexual, Tyrian being his usual creepy self, not at all realistic character turn around but author was too lazy to make it convincing, threats of unlawful imprisonment, vague threats of bodily harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:01:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25794793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrianneABanana/pseuds/BrianneABanana
Summary: On that fateful night in a manta hundreds of feet above the tundra, feelings run ragged and one comment changes everything
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 43





	When He Called You Mine

**Author's Note:**

> Though this up last week and had to get it down! Very little editing besides comments from my lovely beta [Sica](https://archiveofourown.org/users/madamoiselle_sica/pseuds/madamoiselle_sica)
> 
> This fic is an ABO au, but there is no sexual content to be had! Just a bit of protective instincts runnin around <3 I hope y'all enjoy

Qrow looked up from his scroll, the audio of Ruby’s frantic message having cut out. Across the suddenly smaller feeling manta, Clover looked back genuinely surprised at hearing what the General had ordered. A ping came from Clover’s own scroll, his face scrunching into a frown seeing a new message. Qrow was about to ask what it said when he got a message of his own; a warrant out for his and the kids’ arrest. Realizing that he probably got the same notice as Clover, he began to panic, releasing the scent of stress and fear.

“Clover… You don’t have to do this.” he placated, raising his hands out low.

His alpha partner looked back, conflict clear on his face. “Qrow I- I don’t… I  _ can’t just-” _

“Ironwood flipped from working together with the cities and trusting us to do our parts to abandoning Mantle and ordering you to arrest the hunters you’ve been working with for months?” Robyn said, her voice disbelieving and getting louder. “That makes no sense! Something must’ve happened for him to change his mind. Clover you idiot, think about this, since you two were deployed to Mantle what has Qrow done to warrant an arrest?”

“I don’t know!” Clover yelled, standing and taking a step towards his unsure colleagues. The two slumped back a bit, reaching for their weapons. Even a strong-willed beta like Robyn was surprised at Clover’s alpha outburst. 

All three of their heads whipped around when their forgotten prisoner spoke, “Oh isn’t this a fun development!? Will the Alpha make the beta and his omega submit? Or will his iron will bend over backwards for his birdie?”

“Shut. UP!” Qrow ground out through his teeth. His face had gone a bit red from the implication that he and Clover were… It didn’t matter right now. “Clover,” he pleaded “please think about this. Robyn’s right that something probably happened after we all left that made James change his mind. After we drop this  _ asshole _ off in jail, bring me to talk to James. I can find out what went wrong and help him calm down.” 

Tyrian interrupted before Clover could respond, “Aw that’s no fun birdie! I wouldn’t get the chance to have some fun with you again if you’re not in jail with me! Last time I didn’t get to stick around and watch you  _ writhe- _ “

A harsh crack reverberated around the cabin of the manta as Clover shot forward to clock Callows in the face. The serial killer instantly slumped over, once again unconscious. A harsh growl came from Clover’s throat, his fist still shaking by his side and shoulders trembling. His face was still intensely angry when he turned around, causing Robyn to jump up in front of Qrow, her weapon at the ready.

Instantly, his anger melted away and he looked remorseful. He held up his hands in surrender, “Robyn wait, I’m not going to fight. You’re both right, we should get Callows to jail and talk to the General.” His eyes dropped from Robyn’s to Qrow’s, sorrowful teal meeting ghostly pink eyes full of wariness and… was that  _ fear?  _

“Qrow… I’m-” 

Robin glanced back at Qrow, wanting to gauge his reaction to Clovers sudden anger. The older man sat slumped, hand still on his weapon handle, but eyes determined. She raised an eyebrow at him in silent questioning.  _ ‘Are you alright?’ _

Qrow’s mind was racing, trying to connect the dots as to why Clover would react this way. Since they started working together, Clover had been nothing but professional and friendly, never using his status as an alpha to pursue or take advantage of him. Why would he suddenly lose control of his alpha instincts? It's probably from the stress of this whole shitshow, but he’d surely been under other similar stresses before, right? What was it that Tyrian had said.... Oh.  _ oh. _

The older huntsman got up from his seat, nodding at Robyn and beckoning her out of his way. He stood up a bit straighter and stepped up to Clover, within arms length but not much closer. Again, unlike his usual self, Clover wouldn’t look him in the eye. If he had a tail like Marrow it would be between his legs.

_ ‘Let’s see if i'm right.’ _

“Clover, why did you react that way?” he asked slowly, “You’ve been composed all night even with everything that’s happened, but one comment from Callows had you growling and knocking his lights out? Not very like you.”

Clover tried several times to meet Qrows eye’s, but just couldn’t. He started timidly “I know that wasn’t… comments like that don’t usually get to me but what he  _ implied _ I…” He reached trembling hands out to take Qrow’s. 

Qrow allowed it. 

With more of his typical confidence, Clover cleared his throat, “I didn’t like the implication that he would cause you harm. And the way he said it i-it sounded like he wanted to…”

“Hey, look at me Lucky Charm” Qrow soothed, taking Clover’s cheek in his hand. “Having worked as partners for these last few months, and even after our fight with Callows tonight, you  _ know _ that I can handle myself. Callows wouldn’t have touched me, So what really set you off huh?”

Clover’s hand covered Qrow’s on his face, nuzzling into it. “I think… I think it was because he called you  _ mine.  _ We both know that our flirting hasn’t been subtle these past weeks. With tensions high and my alpha pushing through my usual calm facade I guess the idea of you being hurt like that, especially by  _ him, _ was what spurred my more  _ possessive _ instincts on.”

A look of understanding flashed over Qrow’s face.  _ ‘So I am right.’ _ He hummed, “That might also explain the grudge you said you had against Tyrian, right? I could certainly feel a bit of alpha coming through then.”

“Yea” Clover replied a little embarrassed, “Having heard your story about fighting him in Mistral I wanted a piece of him. Not that you couldn't handle him yourself! I didn’t mean to imply that-” 

He sighed heavily and released Qrow’s hands, sliding his own up to cup the older man’s shoulders. “What I mean is- I  _ do _ know that you can handle yourself just fine. You’ve beaten me plenty of times in our sparring sessions and fought hoards of grimm single handedly. I have immense respect for you as a person Qrow; Going cold sober, taking care of 8 kids, and rolling with all the crazy punches the world has thrown at you... Even so, I don’t want you to have to handle anything like that alone. Not If I can be there for you.”

Suddenly Clover’s arms were full of Qrow, slimmer arms wrapped around his back. “Thank you Clover. It uh… it means so much to hear you say that you don’t feel the need to treat me like a dainty omega; That you still want to protect me and support me.” 

He pulled away from their hug slightly and rolled his eyes. “All that alpha coming off you has my omega instincts singing right now too.” The blush that exploded across the younger man’s face had Qrow chuckling. He turned his head to address Robyn, still standing there watching their exchange with her hand on her hip and eyebrow quirked. “Say Robyn, would you consider clocking a man into unconsciousness an act of courtship?”

The woman cracked a smile, “Knowing what I know about you two,  _ absolutely. _ To be honest the way you two interacted and fought together I thought you were already together! All that god's awful  _ flirting…”  _ she shook her head and turned away from them to look out the manta’s windshield, giving them some privacy.

Qrow chuckled again seeing Clover’s ruffled but happy expression. “I guess we’ve been obvious to everyone but each other then, huh? What do you say Cloves? You wanna start courting in the middle of this crazy war?”

Clover pulled Qrow tighter to him and spoke softly into Qrow’s ear, surprising the man with a low, sultry tone, “Does that mean I get to kiss you now?”

A slight shiver ran down Qrow’s spine, Clover’s warm breath tickling him. “Oh once this is over you can do more than kiss me Lucky Charm, but for now, I’ll allow one.”

Their lips inched closer to each other, their breathes mingling-

_ Before they were interrupted by Robyn calling them.  _

“You’ll have to save the face consummations for later, we’re here.”

Clover chuckled at Qrow’s unsatisfied grumblings. “We’ll have time later, promise.” He kissed Qrow’s cheek, then readied to  _ drag- _ uh  _ transport _ Callows to his cell.

* * *

The ride down the vault elevator was tense. 

Clover was nervous to face his boss, unsure about how the man would react to his questioning of his orders. Qrow was nervous to see the mental state of his old friend and ally, afraid that his paranoia and fear had taken him too far. They held hands to ground each other. 

On the walk to the elevator, they decided not to hide their newly discovered relationship from James. 

_ “I wouldn’t put it past him to use it against us, but we could also convince him better together.”  _ Qrow had said. 

Clover had agreed, but warned his partner,  _ “I can’t promise with certainty that I won’t let my instincts take control. The General is a powerful man, both physically and as my boss, and if he doesn’t like me going against his orders I’ll feel defensive.” _ He left a chaste kiss on Qrow’s cheek.  _ “Just know that even if I try and protect you unnecessarily or say something out of line, I still respect you as an equal.”  _

_ “Of course Clover,”  _ Qrow replied with a wink,  _ “As long as you don’t mind me doing the same.” _

Some of the tension had slid off them at Qrow’s remark. They were ready to face James.

Once the elevator reached the open space of the chamber, they could see James standing in front of the vault, his back to them. Clover shook a bit, his nervousness coming through. Qrow squeezed his hand in reassurance and calmed him with his scent.

The elevator stopping at the platform made a dull thud, James turning around to face them. Even from across the chamber, they could tell the alpha wasn’t pleased.

Despite his flat tone, his voice carried through the chamber. “Captain, what is the meaning of this? I thought I ordered you to  _ arrest _ Qrow, not bring him to me.”

They walked forwards steadily, hand in hand as Clover replied “Sir, we came here to talk. We don’t know what happened after we left for Mantle, but we think something caused you to change your mind about our initial plans. We want to help you and come up with a better solution.” They stopped about 20 feet from James, keeping a safe distance.

James finally noticed their hands, his eyes narrowing before observing their faces. The two huntsman were standing quite close to each other...

“Captain Ebi… it isn’t like you to question orders.” He said coldly, not yet voicing his discovery.

“No sir” Clover replied, “But I was shown that sometimes orders are wrong, despite good intentions. Again, I don’t know what happened while we were arresting Callows, but Qrow did nothing during that time to warrant an arrest. A change occurred here, which made you distrust him and the kids.”

James grit his teeth. “You’re right, Qrow and the children cannot be trusted. Salem is on her way to Atlas as we speak and I made the decision to save as many people as I could by raising the city. When Ms.Rose chose to lead her team against my orders, she condemned her entire pack to being treasonous. I will not take any chances by letting them run free to sabotage my plans.” He slowly moved his gaze to Qrow, but kept addressing his Captain, “Now Clover, I’ll say it again. I  _ order you _ to arrest Qrow Branwen.”

Clover’s body tensed, doing his best to resist the alpha’s order. He had used  _ that voice _ , the one that could move people like they couldn’t control themselves. Clover was trained to resist those types of commands, but coming from  _ James?... _

“You’re just  _ scared _ James” Qrow shot back. He took the lead to give Clover time to collect himself, releasing his hand and walking up to the General. “If it's true that Salem told you she’s coming, you should be focusing on evacuating everyone from Mantle, not leaving them behind to save the rich and powerful. You’ve always been a bleeding heart, and I’ve respected that you put others before yourself to protect them, but you can’t just lock Atlas away from the rest of the world and abandon those you consider beneath you because you’re afraid of losing everything like at Beacon!” He pointed his finger at James, “You’re letting your fear and paranoia control you! Your stupid alpha brain is making barbaric decisions that you normally never would. Come back down to the ground and work with us to find a better sol-”

Qrow stopped short. James had shot his metallic hand out and gripped Qrow’s wrist, jerking it down from his chest. James’ alpha presence heavily emanated, shrouding Qrow as he loomed over him by a few inches. His voice was still calm and low, but his eyes were terrifyingly wild, bordering on unhinged.

“Qrow” he leveled, “we didn’t see eye to eye at Beacon when I brought my armada to protect Vale from  _ her  _ people. She used my forces against me, killed many innocents, and raised the academy to the ground.” His grip tightened painfully and Qrow’s breath hitched. “What makes you think that with my already depleted forces, that we could take not  _ only _ her people but that devil herself? I need to do what I can to protect as many as I can, even if that means locking them  **_and you_ ** away-”

A sudden creak sounded between them. Clover had rushed forwards, his resistance to James’ order boosted by his need to protect his partner, and wrapped his hand around James’ wrist. The metal slightly buckled under his hormone-heightened strength.

He leveled James with an equally terrifying look. “With all due respect, if we plan on fighting any grimm to protect people we’ll need Qrow. You cannot lock him away, I simply  _ won’t let you.” _

James’ fist closed a hair tighter around Qrow’s wrist, causing him to whimper at the pressure and bring his other hand up to try and break his grip. The release of more distress from his partner had Clover losing a bit of his composure and actually growling at James, his own grip tightening and bending the metal of James’ wrist. 

“ **Let. him.** **_Go_ ** _. _ ” Clover all but commanded.

James’ grip slackened, but he didn't let go. He seemed annoyed now moreso than angry, but Clover stayed wary. 

"So you two have gotten this close” James mused, voice lighter but somewhat accusatory. “I knew from your semblances and fighting styles that you would work well together, but I didn't anticipate a relationship of this sort between you." Qrow shudders at the tone James dipped into, then winces when the metal grip grows tighter around his wrist again. “Qrow has always been bad luck, sure, but I never thought he would be capable of acquiring one of my best officers.”

James’ wrist crunched as a snarl ripped from the other alphas throat, his pheromones now fighting James’ own. 

Before he could say anything, James raised his voice. _ "Why are you fighting me on this Clover?  _ You obviously care about Qrow enough to want him to be safe, your instincts must be  _ screaming _ at you to protect him from me right now. You’re crushing my metal wrist over holding his tightly enough to bruise. What will you be like in the field when a bruised wrist would be the lightest injury he’d come away with?” 

Having been silent through the exchange, Qrow made himself known again by snarling,  _ “James _ have you forgotten who I  _ am? _ I'm a legendary huntsman for god's sake. You of all people should know that me being an omega does _ not _ affect my abilities. Hell, I saved your ass plenty at the Fall, or did you forget that too?" 

James didn’t reply.

Clover's face turned to an anguished grimace as he realized how he’d acted. ‘ _ Pull it together Ebi. Don’t let the alpha take over unnecessarily.’ _

"Qrow’s right. Of course I want to protect him, but locking him up when he's ready and willing to fight to save people is not protection, its  _ imprisonment _ . He’s not defenseless in the least and I trust our partnership in the field, so I feel at ease fighting with him. I don't worry too much about Qrow because he can handle himself and he has me to watch his back."

"Oh, you think you can protect him, Captain?"

Clover went ramrod straight, hearing the subtle threat coming from his boss. He slowly wrapped his arm around Qrow and held him to his chest, keeping the other hand around James metal wrist. "While I don't think he  _ needs _ my protection, yes I'd like to think I am capable of protecting him." His wide eyes told James  _ exactly _ how he felt about the man threatening his partner.

"That's right.” Qrow added, repeating Clover’s gesture, “We’re partners James; Protecting each other is what partners and teammates do. Now, get your alpha head out of your protective ass and  _ let go of me _ so I can do my job and protect the people who can’t protect themselves."

James huffed and dropped Qrow’s wrist. Qrow cradled it and rubbed it while Clover whined a little in his throat, stepping them further from the General. He couldn't help but gently take the wrist and kiss it, even as Qrow’s aura healed the bruising near instantly, his other arm still around the omega’s waist.

Seeing the exchange, James wilted. Qrow was right. He could handle himself, and he had a great and deep partnership with his Captain that would protect them both. Still, their new relationship would be very little in the face of impending destruction. 

“Qrow” he called, gaining the new couples' still wary attention, “If lifting Atlas out of her reach isn’t something you recommend, then what should I do? With my forces depleted, I can’t ensure the safety of Atlas’ people if we continue to evacuate. Hell even now I can’t imagine a scenario where everyone in my kingdom survives.”

Qrow hummed in thought, “Well first of all, stop saying “I” and “my” and all that. We’re an equal part of this James, you’re not the sole leader here. As for what we can do, I had an idea that just might work to at least bring down a good chunk of Salem’s grimm army….”

Clover lovingly stared at Qrow as he and James discussed a new plan. It was so amazing to see how easily Qrow deescalated the situation, even with how blunt he spoke.  _ ‘I really do love him.’ _

“Does that sound good Clover?”

“W-what?” Clover stammered out. He had been lost in his thoughts over his newfound love that he didn’t hear their discussion ending.

Qrow shook his head, “Alphas.” he joked. 

James gave them a knowing smile. “So, were you two going to wait until the world ends to create your bond?”

“Woah hold on there Jimmy!” Qrow said, face flushed. “We have an immortal witch and an army of grimm heading to Atlas, we don’t have the luxury of time and a nice getaway to just-”

James stopped his rambling and clapped his hand on his shoulder, “You know that you can create bonds without having to… consummate, correct? It’s only temporary, but that bond is still strong enough to give you an edge in battle until you get the chance to make things permanent if you so chose.”

“O-oh” Clover whispered. “I would be ok with doing that… Qrow?”

The elder huntsman cleared his throat, “I uh.. Yea I’d be alright doing that with- with you Clover… James, you’re sure it won’t have any side effects? No heightened instincts or desires or anything?”

The question pulled a deep rumbling laugh from James, “No Qrow, there are no adverse effects with temporary bonds, at least not until you create a temporary bond multiple times. The most significant change you’ll feel is a slight emotional connection to each other. That's why it’s helpful in battle; to be able to keep track of your partner and offer assistance if they become distressed.” 

He coughed into his fist, “I’ll contact the other ops and Winter and… give you two some privacy.”

The alpha and omega pair nervously chuckled. 

“Wow we’re doing this much sooner than I thought we would.” Clover remarked. 

“Yea, I would’ve thought we’d have time to have dinner first!” Qrow teased back. He lifted his collar away from his neck with a finger and tilted his head, “You can go first Cloves, have at it.”

Clover had to tamp down his inner alpha that screamed at him to take a bite of that creamy neck right then, so willingly presented to him. “I have a better idea” he said, removing Qrow’s hand from his collar and placing it by his own, “Why don’t we bite each other at the same time? Like a kiss almost.”

“Aw, aren’t you ever the gentleman? Ok, I like that.” He crowded into Clover’s chest and moved the man’s collar aside. “On three?”

“Sure.” Clover moved Qrow’s own collar to gain access to his neck. He wrapped his free arm around the omega’s waist.

They both counted down, then sunk in their teeth.

Euphoria rushed through them, releasing with their own scents as the mating glands in their necks broke from their bites. They instinctively clung harder to each other, breathing a bit harshly at how overwhelming it was. 

Calming down first, Clover removed his teeth and carefully licked the blood away from his -  _ currently temporary _ \- mates’ neck, his aura healing it into a shallow scar. Qrow followed a minute later with the same results.

They pulled away and looked into each other’s eyes, still a bit clouded, then passionately kissed. It felt so  _ natural.  _ So  _ right _ in that moment.

Up until James cleared his throat.

Clover and Qrow almost jumped apart, had their grip on each other not held, as James laughed at them. “Good to see that it worked. I just hope you two won’t get  _ distracted _ during this fight. I tried to contact the other Ace Ops, but it seems that team RWBY handedly defeated them. I’m going to turn on the kids’ and your scrolls, Qrow, so we can come back together. I just wanted to have you here to convince them to forgive me and try to work with me again.”

“Ok, go ahead Jimmy.”

Not a minute after he turned their scrolls back online, Qrow's rang with a call from Ruby. He answered, ready to explain before she yelled-

“Uncle Qrow! Are you ok?? Where are you? Did you get my message?”

“Ruby calm down!” he placated, “I’m fine. I got your message, but I’m in the vault with Clover and James-”

“WHAT??? Hold on we’ll come save you!”

“Ruby listen to me!” he yelled back trying and failing to get his beta niece to hear what he was saying. He couldn’t help his anxiety rising, the bond still fresh with elevated emotions.

A loud booming sound reverberated through the chamber then, registering to Qrow as Clover using his alpha voice to shout Ruby’s name. “ **Ruby!** You have to listen please. Qrow is fine. I didn’t arrest him. The two of us threw Callows in jail then confronted the General in the vault. We convinced him to give up his plan of raising Atlas and work with us to form a new plan. We need you all to meet us in the vault. Ok?”

Ruby was silent on the other end of the line before she responded, “Why should I trust you? What can you tell me that will make me believe that you haven’t just forced my uncle to go along with some scheme?”

Qrow started to scold his niece, but Clover stopped him. “I can handle this, please trust me?”

He smiled softly at his alpha. “Ok Cloves.”

“Ruby, I promise you that your uncle is safe here with us, and that James and I are on your side. Qrow convinced me to think about the situation and… we realized our feelings for each other. We’ve even created a temporary bond. I’m sure even at your age you know that any type of bond cannot be set without 100% consent, so that's your proof that at the very least, your uncle trusts me. If you come down we can show you our marks, as well as the dent I made in James’ wrist while protecting Qrow.”

The beta girl hummed, considering all that Clover had told her. “Alright, we’ll come down to the vault. If what you said about your new relationship my uncle isn’t true, you’d better be prepared. My team beat your team, and we won’t hesitate to bring you down too if we think you’ll do the people of Atlas or my uncle harm.”

“Fair enough. Thank you Ruby.” 

All three men sighed in relief when the call cut off. 

Qrow shook his head wistfully. “Ruby can be so much like her mother.”

“She really cares about you, they all do.” Clover said. “I hope I can prove myself to be worthy of their approval. Knowing that you have such a large pack that love and protect you already makes my alpha brain happy, but becoming a part of it makes that feeling skyrocket.”

The love in his voice had Qrow purring.

“I don’t know how I missed this before.” James mused, a tired look in his eyes. “You two are lovely together, and I’m glad you have each other now.”

Clover smiled at the weary man and shook his head. “James, you were probably way too concerned about making decisions and dealing with various things to notice. To be fair we didn’t realize our feelings until tonight, though others like Robyn had in just a few hours of knowing us.”

“Thats right” Qrow agreed. “And James, This isn’t the end of things. You really messed up, but this is a chance to make things right. The kids may not accept an apology from you without seeing significant change, but putting forward the effort to do so i'm sure would be appreciated. Like I said earlier, you’ve always done your best to protect and care for people. Sure your alpha brain probably amplified those instincts but the thought behind your actions is all you.” He patted James shoulder at the remark. “Besides, the best way to redeem yourself is doing what you can to correct your decisions made through fear and paranoia. Not giving up, or being a sad sack, or anything else.” 

For the first time in a long time James slumped his shoulders. “I suppose you two are right. I can only try again, and put more trust in you all to pull off a riskier plan. For what you told me about your battle with operative Cordovin, I guess you and the kids are good at cleaning up your own messes quickly.”

Qrow chuckled, “You have no idea how  _ nervous _ that whole situation made me. I got greyer that day.”

“It looks great on you though” Clover said with a wink.

Qrow playfully pushed his face away, the two falling into banter easily. James’ eyebrows lifted and his face turned blank, “You know you two are going to have to fill out paperwork after all this is over correct? All relationships in the military have strict codes of conduct and must be signed by both parties to be sanctioned.”

The younger pair gaped at the general. Qrow found his voice first, “Did… did you just make a  _ joke _ Jimmy??? Oh my god you made a joke!” he bent over laughing all while Clover giggled strangely at the unfamiliarity of Qrow and James’ easy friendship.

“I’ll fill out mountains of paperwork after all of this is over. Provided we all live of course.”

Qrow wiped a tear from his eye, “We will Cloves. We’re stronger together. Besides, I think you’ve underestimated these kids. They’ve grown and matured incredibly since the Fall.”

All three men turned to the vault elevator, hearing the mechanism start with the descent of the kids. 

“That’s all we can hope for.”


End file.
